According to the court, the man executed his 42-year-old wife with five shots shortly after watching a football match with his son. It was stated that the man feared his wife, who was Mexican, would return to Mexico with their two children after the end of their marriage.

The man had bought the gun in Vienna just a few months previously. He claimed that he remembered taking his son back to his ex-wife's home, but that he had no memory whatsoever of the events which led to her death.

The defense team sought an acquittal in relation to the alleged memory loss, but the court was not persuaded, and sentenced him to 15 years in custody in Switzerland.

The murder took place in the centre of Geneva. The ex-spouses had apparently been arguing for years.

The couple had originally lived, according to media reports, in St. Gallen but then had separated and divorced.

The lawyer had moved to Germany, while the woman and her children moved to Geneva. Swiss authorities had previously imposed a restraining order on the man because of his behaviour towards his ex-wife.